Tyler and the Doctor
by BrattyAngel1980
Summary: The Doctor and Rose Tyler work out the changes in both their relationship and in her after Bad Wolf.


Rose Tyler threw her arm over her eyes as a blindingly bright golden light exploded from the Doctor filling the console room. She squinted trying to see what was happening. Suddenly the light was gone and a different man stood right where her Doctor had been, wearing his clothing (dark jeans, dark jumper, boots and black leather jacket). He was tall like her Doctor was but that was the only thing they had in common. He was skinny (_"lean but still muscular"_ her mind supplied) with chocolate coloured eyes and spiky brown hair. Lots of hair; he even had sideburns. _"Pretty boy" _she heard in a distinct northern accent in her mind.

She snorted in amusement as he began taking stock of his body, causing him to meet her gaze. "Two arms, good, good. Two legs, alright. Oh, look. I have fingers! New teeth, weird…"

She stood up putting her hands on her hips as she did. "Who're you then? And what did you do with my Doctor?"

He grinned at her. _"Her Doctor, is he?"_

"Rose, it's me. I'm the Doctor. Remember? I told you I was going to change because I was dying. It was the only way to stay alive." She watched him warily as he walked over to her. Once he was within reach of her he leaned towards her. "Do you remember the first thing I ever said to you? Back in that basement, oh so long ago. It was the autons and the Nestene Consciousness. You were trapped in the basement and I took your hand," he reached out taking her hand, " and said one word, just one." She was gazing into his eyes, mesmerized. "I said 'run'."

Rose looked closer at him and she saw it. It was his eyes. He may look like he's in his early 30s but his eyes were ancient. "Doctor?" She asked, placing her hand on his cheek.

He smiled and waved at her. "Hello." She gave him a small smile. _"Well at least she believes I'm me." _He thought. "Let's go to the galley and have some tea. I'm going to need it." She nodded and followed him to the galley. She put the kettle on and pulled out a couple of mugs. A few minutes later she brought the tea to the table and passed him a mug, along with the milk and sugar. The Doctor added about six sugars and some milk.

"A little bit of tea with your sugar, yeah?" Rose teased, giving him a tongue in tooth smile. He chuckled and drank his tea. They talked as they drank their tea, the Doctor explaining about the whole regeneration process. After their tea they decided to go visit Rose's mum, Jackie Tyler.

"Can we land there for Christmas Doctor? I don't want Mum to be stuck alone."

"Your wish, my command." The Doctor replied with a wink and a smile. They landed on the Powell Estate on 24th December 2005. As Rose opened the door to the Doctor's ship, called the TARDIS, and stepped outside her mum came flying at her followed by Rose's ex-boyfriend, Mickey Smith.

"Rose! You're back just in time for Christmas!" Jackie exclaimed. She looked around, noticing that the Doctor hadn't followed Rose out of the TARDIS. "Where's himself then?"

"He'll be out in a minute. C'mon Doctor! Say hi to Mum and Mickey."

"Coming! Be out in just a tick," came a very different voice than Jackie and Mickey were used to. It was higher, more tenor than baritone, and rather than the northern accent it was more estuary.

"Rose," Mickey asked, "who's that? Did you and the Doctor pick someone else up?"

Rose hugged him quickly and as she stepped back she tried to explain. "No, that's the Doctor. He was dying so he changed. He looks different than he did before." Just then the Doctor walked out and stood next to Rose, taking her hand. She looked up at him, smiling. "What took you so long?"

"I had to set her," this as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the TARDIS, "to run diagnostics on herself. Always important to do right after a regeneration."

Rose nodded and bumped shoulders with him. "Don't forget to say hello."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and waggled his fingers at her. "Hello." She snorted in amusement. "Jackie! Mickey! Merry Christmas!" The Doctor threw his arms around Jackie and Mickey.

Jackie snorted at him. "At least this one is a little more social." Rose laughed and the Doctor shot her a mock hurt look. She gave him her tongue in tooth smile and looked up at him through her lashes.

"Oh come on Doctor. You know that you never were all that interested in domestics before." He couldn't resist her smile and chuckled, nodding.

"But Rose, to be fair, the first time I attempted to meet your mother she slapped me. Can you blame me for not really wanting to repeat the experience?"

"Oi! You deserved that slap! You brought Rose back a year later! And did you explain? No! So don't give me that nonsense." Jackie had turned on the Doctor almost before he finished talking. He stepped back away from Jackie just in case she wanted to slap him again.

"Yes, yes Jackie. You're right. I'm sorry. But I did get her here for Christmas." Rose, Jackie and Mickey all rolled their eyes at him. He took Rose's hand and suggested that they go inside.

Rose leaned up to quietly tell him, making sure that the others couldn't hear her, "You go ahead. I need to get Mum a gift and I need to talk to Mickey. We broke up last time we came to visit and I want to make sure that we can be friends."

"Why'd you break up?" he asked her just as quietly.

Rolling her eyes at him she answered. "I thought you were supposed to be a genius. Figure it out for yourself." He just looked at her confused. He knew that it would bother him until he worked it out.

"Mickey, what do you say we let these two go ahead of us so that I can get a bit of shopping done and we can catch up?" Rose asked. Mickey's face lit up and he nodded. _"Uh oh, I hope he doesn't think that I want to get back together."_

The group separated, only one of them happy about the arrangement. Mickey started walking towards the shops with Rose at his side. She looked back at the Doctor and found him watching her. She gave him a wry smile that he returned. She wasn't looking forward to the coming talk with Mickey about their relationship.

Rose found a few small gifts for her mother and then she found a TARDIS blue oxford shirt and a tie that would look nice with it; chocolate brown (like the Doctor's eyes) with blue swirls. She eyed them, considering. _"Would he like them? He hasn't changed his clothes yet."_ The Doctor had explained that he would be changing his outfit but he was waiting on it for a bit to give her family a chance to get used to him. She felt an odd nudge in the back of her head but ignored it. _"I'll get them. He'll look nice in them."_

She missed the old version of the Doctor; unconventionally handsome with big ears and nose, short black hair and piercing ice blue eyes. He had been all fire and ice, fresh from the war, needing her to help him learn to connect with others again. He would have hated the face he had now. She smiled, thinking about what he'd say to her about it. _"He's a bit pretty Rose."_ Well, she'd definitely noticed this time.

"Rose, who are those for?" Mickey asked her. She grinned as she told him the shirt and tie were for the Doctor. "But he never changes what he wears." Mickey protested.

Rose just looked at him. "Yeah, and he doesn't change his face either, Micks. The Doctor only has his old clothes on so that you and Mum have an easier time getting used to him."

"Why does he care? It's not as if he voluntarily spends time with us…" Mickey trailed off as she suddenly refused to meet his eyes. "You really love him, don't you? There's no chance of us getting back together. It's just you and him, like always."

"I'm sorry Mickey. I love you but you're more like a brother to me. You deserve so much better than me. I hope we can stay friends. Yes, I love him. But we're not like that. He isn't interested in me that way."

At that last comment Mickey raised an eyebrow at her. "So clearly he's not the only one who's blind in that area. He's just as in love with you as you are with him. He'll probably pick an entire outfit around those," he pointed at the shirt and tie she was in the process of paying for.

As they headed back towards the Powell Estate Rose noticed that they were being followed by a few Santas who were carrying instruments. "Mickey, I think we're being followed." Suddenly the Santas lowered their instruments and Rose pushed Mickey out of the way. They ran back to Jackie's amidst the sounds of small explosions.

"Let me guess, they're after the Doctor?"

"Unless you managed to tick someone off. I don't think I have recently." Rose answered. "Doctor!" She called as they got to the door of the flat. He pulled the door open, catching her as she tripped over the entrance. Rose looked up at him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank goodness. You're okay."

The Doctor took her bags in one hand and laced his fingers with hers with the other hand, pulling her inside letting Mickey follow them inside and closing the door. "Rose Tyler, what have you been getting into this time?" The Doctor asked her, amusement clear in his voice.

"Oh, ya know, nothing much. Just getting chased and shot at by what look like robot Santas. It's been a slow day." She winked at him and gave him her tongue in tooth smile.

The Doctor gave her a wide smile in answer. "Did they follow you home to me?" he asked. Just then there was a whirring noise coming from the living room. Rose and the Doctor ran to see what it was.

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket as he ran. He was able to deactivate the killer Christmas tree and scanned it with the sonic screwdriver. "Remote control. Let's see who's in control. Come on Rose!" He grabbed her hand and rushed out to the balcony only to push Rose down and cover her with his body. She gasped as the wall behind them exploded.

The Doctor got up and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the Santas Rose had told him about but before he could use it they disappeared. As the Doctor pulled Rose to her feet she tripped and fell into his arms. "Hello." He said, grinning.

Rose gave him her tongue in tooth smile and responded with "hello."

They were distracted when Jackie and Mickey came out after them demanding answers. "So what were they then? And how did that tree show up?"

The Doctor reluctantly let go of Rose and checked the display on his sonic. "Pilot fish. They probably just showed up because I regenerated. They wanted my energy. But pilot fish always swim with a much larger and more dangerous fish, like a shark. Something big is coming." Rose shivered slightly and stepped closer to the Doctor who tucked her back under his arm. "We should try to figure it out. Let's go see what's on telly." They all went back inside and sat in the chairs and couch.

Mickey and Jackie each took a chair while Rose and the Doctor sprawled out on the sofa. The news was on, a special report on the Mars space probe, Guinevere One. The newscaster was waiting for it to start transmitting information back to Earth.

When it did the Doctor sat up to get a closer look at the images on the screen. "Doctor!" Rose yelped as she was knocked over and caught herself from falling on the coffee table. The Doctor glanced over at her and looked chagrined.

"Oh, sorry Rose. Are you alright?" He helped her back on the sofa and pulled her over so that she was curled back up to him.

"Doctor, what's that on the telly? It's not the surface of Mars, right?" Rose pointed at the TV where there was a humanoid creature with a skull-like face.

"The Sycorax. Remember the pilot fish Rose?" She nodded. "Well that's the shark. Come on, everybody. Into the TARDIS. You'll be safer there while Rose and I take care of this." Rose gave him her tongue in tooth smile and Jackie and Mickey rolled their eyes at the two. Rose and the Doctor led them all hand in hand to the TARDIS.

"Oh, I forgot something. I'll be right back." Rose told the Doctor and opened the door of the TARDIS, stepping out and stopping short. She was in a spaceship with the Sycorax and a few humans. "Um, Doctor? Can you please come here and close the door behind you?"

"What is it Rose?" He did as she asked, quietly telling Jackie and Mickey to stay inside the TARDIS. "Ah, yes I see what you mean." He heard the TARDIS door lock as he walked over to Rose, taking her hand.

"We will talk to the pink and yellow human and her mate, who have the clever blue box." The Sycorax leader roared.

"Will you now?" Rose answered.

"Who are you?" the leader roared.

The Doctor roared back at him. "I don't know!" Rose smiled at him, amused. "I know that I'm the Doctor but other than that I just don't know who I am. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He turned to Rose and winked at her, pleased when she blushed. "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed? A gambler, a fighter, a coward, a traitor, a liar, a nervous wreck? I mean judging by the evidence I've certainly got a gob."

"Doctor, what's that there for?" Rose pointed at a big red button on a console near them. The Doctor looked at it and grinned.

"And how am I going to react when I see this? A great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hm? Hold on, what's feeding it? And what have we got here? Blood?" He dipped his finger into a small bowl of dark liquid and licked it, making a face. Rose made a face at him.

_"Really Doctor? Why'd you have to taste it? Gross."_ Rose thought. "_Well, it's not like he's going to be kissing me. Too bad."_

The Doctor glanced over at her sharply before continuing what he was doing. _"Rose wanted to kiss him?"_ He filed that information away along with the confusion over how he'd heard something that she'd clearly only been thinking. He shouldn't have been able to hear her. He'd better check her over after they got back in the TARDIS. She had, after all, taken the entire vortex into herself. Who knew what changes it may have made to her?

"Yep, definitely blood. Human blood. A positive. With just a dash of iron. But that means… blood control! Blood control! Aw! I haven't seen blood control for years! You're controlling all the A positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never ever, ever be pressed, I just want to do this—" The Doctor hit the button, freeing the humans from the control.

Rose stepped forward but the Doctor shook his head imperceptibly. Suddenly she startled, glancing over at the Doctor. _"They're warriors Rose. I don't want to take the chance they'll hurt you. Stay there please."_ Somehow she'd heard his voice in her head. She nodded slightly at him, acquiescing.

The Doctor challenged the Sycorax leader to a sword fight. The winner would decide Earth's fate. They started the sword fight and Rose admired the grace with which the Doctor moved. He brought the fight outside and the Sycorax leader cut the Doctor's right hand off, which regrew.

"Witchcraft!" the Sycorax leader roared.

The Doctor replied with a smug smile, "Time Lord." Rose smiled her special smile. The Doctor won the fight and ordered the Sycorax to leave and never come back. As soon as he turned his back on the leader he moved to attack the Doctor's back. The Doctor pulled a small cricket ball out of a pocket throwing it at a hidden switch causing the floor under the Sycorax leader to disappear. "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man."

Once Rose, the Doctor and the rest of the humans were back on Earth the Sycorax left. Harriet Jones (the current prime minister) ordered the Sycorax ship shot down, which angered the Doctor and Rose. The Doctortold Harriet, "I can bring down your government with a single word."

Harriet answered him, "You're the most remarkable man I've ever met. But I don't think you're quite capable of that."

The Doctor told her, "No, you're right. Not a single word. Just six."

Harriet replied,"I don't think so."

The Doctor stated, "Six words."

Harriet frowned saying, "Stop it."

The Doctor said,"Six."He turned to Harriet's aide, a man named Alex and asked him quietly, "Don't you think she looks tired?"

Rose was helping her mum set the table for dinner and putting out the food. She'd wrapped the gifts she'd picked up for her mum and the Doctor. The Doctor was in the TARDIS checking how the diagnostics check was going. Jackie asked Rose if the Doctor was coming back for dinner. "I think so. I'll go ask him." Rose snagged the gift she'd gotten for the Doctor and brought it with her. She entered the TARDIS and smiled when she saw him reading the information on the monitor on the console. "Doctor?" He looked up and grinned at her. "Mum asked me to check if you were coming to dinner. Will you?"

He looked surprised. "I didn't know I was invited."

She shook her head at him and answered, "Of course you are. It's your choice if you want to come."

"Do _you_ want me to come?" He walked over to her, taking her hand.

"Yes I do, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"If you want me to come, I'll come. Oh! I have a present for you Rose. I'd rather give to you privately, if that's alright?" Rose smiled at him, tongue slipping between her teeth.

"Yeah, okay. I have a present for you too." She handed him the box as he reached into his pocket to pull out a small box. They opened their gifts and as she had hoped he was very happy with the shirt and tie.

"Oh Rose these are perfect! I'm tired of these clothes I'm wearing. I'll go change in a minute."

Meanwhile Rose was examining the little box in her hands. It looked like one of those fancy boxes that high end jewelry came in. "The shirt will look nice on you." She answered absently, opening the box and gasping. Inside the box was a beautiful necklace. It looked like rose gold, the chain so fine it was almost invisible. The pendant was a small circle with a howling wolf. There were tiny diamonds on the circle, it was half sun, half moon. The diamonds on the sun side were yellow and the ones on the moon side were white. The wolf had a single whiskey colored diamond for an eye. It was beautiful. "Doctor, it's beautiful. Will you put it on for me please?" Rose held it out, turning when the Doctor took it from her. She tried not to shiver as his fingers brushed her neck as he put the necklace on her. He reached around her, his body pressing against hers, and straightened it out.

"I picked this up at that last trade planet we were on. The metal it's made of is unbreakable. It's perfect for you." Rose's breath hitched slightly and then her cell phone rang, making them both jump. "Ah, well, I'm going to go change. Be back in a moment."

Rose nodded and answered her phone. It was her mum and Rose assured her that she and the Doctor would be along in a few minutes; as soon as the Doctor finished getting ready. They hung up and Rose sighed, moving to sit on the jump seat. She fiddled with her new necklace and closed her eyes. "Rose…" She jumped as she felt lips brushing against her ear. She looked up and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the Doctor. He was wearing the shirt and tie she'd gotten him with a brown pinstriped suit. "Doctor…?" She breathed.

He was leaning down towards her and when she turned to meet his eyes their noses touched. Rose licked her lips and his eyes dropped to her mouth. The Doctor moved his head down fractionally and Rose tilted hers up and suddenly they were kissing. Rose gasped as the Doctor pressed his lips more firmly against hers and he took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. He wrapped his arms around her and she slipped one arm around his back and buried the other hand in his hair. Her phone rang again and they pulled apart.

Rose answered, "Mum we're on our way back. See you in a minute." She hung up and looked up at the Doctor, taking in the mussed hair and slightly swollen lips. He gave her a shy smile and held out his hand. She took it and reached up to fix his hair. "We're going to have to talk about this later Doctor." He nodded and led her back to her Mum's flat. They ate Christmas dinner and opened crackers. She caught the Doctor watching her with a smile as she giggled with her mum.

He made a decision and turned to Jackie. "Jackie? Can I have a word with you please?" She looked surprised but nodded and followed him out to the balcony.

Once the door closed behind them she asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to talk to you about Rose. I need to ask you something." Jackie raised an eyebrow at him and gestured for him to continue. "I care about Rose. But you already know that." She nodded at him and he continued. "I have been turning this over in my mind for a long time now. I want to ask your permission to court, well I think the human term is date, Rose. " Jackie looked at him in shock.

"You're asking me if I'll allow you to date my daughter? Shouldn't you be talking to her about this and not me?"

He shook his head. "I will talk to her about it later. But the custom of my people is to get permission from the parents before they speak to the one they want to court. I know it's different here but I'm not comfortable with taking that step without your permission. Will you allow it?"

Jackie smiled at him. She nodded. "On one condition. You look after her. Keep her as safe as possible."

He nodded and smiled. "As always Jackie. I'll protect her with my life." Jackie nodded, satisfied.

"Alright then. Go ahead and talk to Rose about it. Oh, and that necklace you gave her?"

The Doctor's ears turned pink. "Yes?"

"You did well. It's beautiful and it suits her personality."

"I thought so. I mean, I thought it suited her. You'd be proud of her if you saw her when we travel. She makes friends everywhere we go and is so compassionate and empathetic. She keeps me from going overboard. The light to my dark, she is."

"Your dark? Should I be worried?"

"I'd never hurt her. I've seen a lot in my 900 plus years. I met her coming fresh from war. I was in a bad place back then but from the moment I took her hand to save her she started to save me. I don't think I'd have made it through that first year after the war without her. I didn't want to live but she saved me and pulled me back from self destruction. She's an amazing young woman." He started to turn away from Jackie to head back inside.

Jackie stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. "Doctor. You know that you're family now, right? Always welcome here. Come home anytime." She smiled at him and hugged him before she went inside, leaving him staring after her in shock.

"Doctor? Are you still out here?" He shook his head. It was Rose. She'd come looking for him when he hadn't followed her mum inside. He felt a hand on his face and looked down to see Rose standing right in front of him. He smiled. Her mum had given him permission to pursue a relationship with Rose. H

e placed a hand on her cheek lightly stroking her cheek. "I need to talk to you."

"Should I be worried?" She grinned at him. He laughed and shook his head.

"I don't think so. I'm not sure exactly how to start this conversation though."

"How about you explain the kiss earlier? I'm not complaining about it, don't get me wrong, but it was unexpected. I'd like to know if I can expect more of that." She lightly looped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his other arm around her waist.

"I've wanted to kiss you for a very long time. I just couldn't resist. As to whether or not it'll happen again, that's up to you. I've spoken with your mum, as is the custom of my people, and she gave me her blessing. So…" Rose pulled back slightly to look up at him.

"Spoke to mum about what?" She asked. He chuckled and rolled his eyes at her.

"I was trying to tell you precious girl." Her eyes widened slightly at his endearment. "I want to pursue a relationship with you Rose. I care about you, more than I've cared about anyone else in my life. I can come to you about it because your mum agreed to let me court you. Provided you want to be courted, that is."

"You want to court me? You mean like date me?" He nodded. "And getting Mum's blessing first is a custom of your people?" He nodded again. "What if Mum hadn't agreed Doctor?"

He paled slightly but answered her truthfully. "If she'd said no then we wouldn't be having this conversation Rose. I can't court, or date, you without her permission."

"Well then, I guess it's good that Mum likes you. She already thinks of you as part of the family. And…" She pulled his head down, kissing him, "I definitely want more Doctor. Have for about a year."

The Doctor looked thunderstruck at her admission. "A year? But we started traveling together a year ago." She nodded. "You liked me with the big ears? I had a daft face back then. You seemed to like the pretty boys."

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. "I thought you were… Well not handsome, it's not the right word. Sexy. I found you very sexy back then. And none of the pretty boys, as you call them, could really hold my interest. It's always been you since I left home."

"Sexy? If I was sexy in my last body then what am I now?" He was pouting, not that Time Lords pout. They don't. And yet…

"Stop pouting. You're handsome. I'm pretty sure that I'll always find you sexy. But my question is what could you possibly see in me? I'm not special; I'm just a shop girl who never got her A levels." Rose stated the last comment matter of factly.

The Doctor stared her. _"Does she really not know just how special she is?"_ He shook his head, dumbfounded. "How? How can you not know just how wonderful you are?"

Rose blushed but shrugged. "Cuz I'm not. I learned that lesson several years ago." Her eyes darkened with the memories of her past.

"Rose Tyler." She looked up at him. "Let's go say goodnight to your mum and go home, alright?" He reached down and took her hand.

"Yeah, let's go back home."

An hour later they were snuggled up in the library on one of the couches. The Doctor was leaning against the arm with one leg stretched out and the other foot was resting on the floor. Rose was laying down between them, head on his thigh. He was reading one of their favorite books, Charles Dickens' _A Christmas Carol, _to her. As he read he absently ran his fingers through her hair. He felt a wave of contentment and smiled until he realized that it was Rose's. He shouldn't be able to feel her emotions. He shouldn't have been able to hear her thoughts earlier. And she shouldn't have been able to hear his. ** _"Rose?"_ ** he asked telepathically.

"Hmm?" She was half asleep and answered him sleepily. Then she realized that he hadn't actually spoken out loud. She sat up turning to face him. "Doctor, how can I hear you in my head?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, Rose. You shouldn't be able to. Humans aren't naturally telepathic." Rose stiffened slightly at that. The Doctor continued running his fingers through her hair trying to soothe her. "Rose, do you mind if I run some tests on you? This may be a side effect of you taking in the vortex. Has anything else happened since you woke up?"

Rose pulled away, sitting up and turning to face him. He felt the loss immediately. She started to shake her head before an odd look crossed her face. "There was something earlier, when I was out with Mickey. I just dismissed it at the time and then I forgot to mention it because of everything else that happened." She was rambling.

"Rose, love, relax. What happened earlier?" The Doctor reached out and took her hand, interlacing their fingers.

"When I was out shopping with Mickey and deciding whether or not to get that shirt and tie for you I felt something in my head. It felt like someone nudging me." Rose explained.

The TARDIS hummed louder and flashed her lights. Rose glanced up questioningly. _"Was that you earlier, nudging me?"_ She received a happy hum and the impression that the TARDIS agreed with her. "Well, that makes more sense then. At least I know who it was." Rose smiled.

The Doctor glanced up at the TARDIS and then back at Rose. He sighed.


End file.
